Machinist&#39;s clamp



April 8 1924-. 1,490,063

w. s. TOWER MACHINIST S CLAMP Filed April 10 1923 .45 47% l /6 A5 w magi. Z 1

-A INVENTOR W J1 Tower.

BY; 2' W' ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 8, 1924.

UNITED STATES WALTER S. TQ'W ER, OF RACINE, WISCONSIN.

MACHINISTS CLAMP.

Application filed April 10, 1923. Serial No. 681,208.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER S. Townn, a citizen of the United States, residin at Racine, in the county of Racine and tate of Wisconsin, have invented a new and Improved Machinists Clamp, of which the following is a specification.

The invention resides in the provision of certain new and useful improvements in that class of machinists clamps in which is embodied means whereby varied clamping surfaces may be presented to the work and in which means is included for adjusting the fulcrum of the working parts whereby thedrange of operation thereof may be varle The invention has for its object to provide a simple and compact construction of machinists clamp, inexpensive to manufacture and easy to operate and which is capable of clamping parallel surfaces, tapered surfaces, or round surfaces and wherein is embodied means whereby the fulcrum of the working parts may be quickly and efi'ectively changed in position for varying the range of clamping action of the same and wherein a more powerful action of the clamping parts is present than is had in the ordinary type of parallel clamp or C clamp.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention resides in those novel details of construction, combination of and arrangement of parts, all of which will be first fully described, then be specifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention in clamped condition.

Figure 2 is a rear end elevation of the clamp.

Figure 3 is a front end elevation of the clamp.

Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken substantially on the line 1-4 on Figure 1.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail longitudinal section illustrating the yieldable fulcrum retaining means.

Figure 6 is a side elevation of the invention and illustrates a modified form of fulcrum retaining means.

In the drawing, in which like numerals of reference indicate like parts in all of the figures, I have illustrated the elements of my invention as practically embodied in two main bodies, a movable jaw carrying member, and a base member providing a relatively fixed clamping jaw, the said bodies being so arable from each other by snap action, as iereinafter described in de-' her and is the sole means of actual con-' nection between the two main bodies hereinbefore referred to, and, from the following detailed description, it will be readily apparent that this sole connection may be quickly and efl'ectively broken and rearranged, by snap action, for the purpose of changing the range of clamping action of my improved clamp.

The movable jaw carrying member consists of a pair of parallelly arranged side plates 6, of the contour clearly illustrated, the said plates being joined at their rear ends by the upset trunnions 7 of the pivot head 8 which is provided with a threaded bore 9 for receiving the clamping screw 10 having the turning head 11 and a. base engaging end 12 adapted to seat in and coact with the bearing socket 13 formed in the rear top face of the base member 1. The fore ends of the plates are joined by the shouldered and upset cross pin 14 upon which the clamping jaw 15, provided with a flat clamping face 16 and a grooved clamping face 17 is pivotally mounted so that the said clamping faces may be reversed at will or permitted to conform to a tapered face-to-be-clamped, as may be desired.

Othershouldcred and upset spacer pins 18 may be utilized to properly hold the side plates 6 in their desired spaced and parallelrelation.

From Figure 1 it will be observed that other angled faces merge with the fulcrum receiving cut outs 4 and extend forwardly downwardly therefrom. In the referred form of my invention, shown in Figures 1 through 5 of the drawings, I provide each of the last named angled faces with a bore for accommodating the yielding fulcrum retaining head ,19 which projects outwardly from its shouldered and hollow cylindrical portion 20 and which is adapted to be held outward by the coiled compression spring 21, and to be moved inwardly, in its retaining casing 22, under the action of and for permitting the passing of the fulcrum 1n 5, and against the action of the said spring 21, see Figure 5.

The casings 22 loosely fit the bores in the angled faces above referred to, and are held in the operative position shown in Figure v5 by the retainin screws 23, as shown.

In Figure 1 t is invention is shown as adjusted to its narrowest working range and as exerting clamping action upon a small piece of work having fiat parallel faces, see dotted lines.

In Figure 6, the invention is shown as adjusted to its increased working range and which merge with the fulcrum receiving portions 4.

It will be observed from Figures 2, 3, and 4 that no part of the mechanism of my improved clamp projects beyond the outside planes of the parallel plates 6, from which it will be readily understood that the clamp1 may, if desired, be clamped in turn, toget er with its clamped work, in a larger holding means, such as a vise, with full advantage of the convenience of the feature above referred to.

It will be also readily understood how quickly and effectively the fulcrum pin 5 of the movable jaw carrying member may be snapped out of one fulcrum receiving portion 4 into another such portion for making the desired adjustment. It will be seen also that the clamping screw 10 may be utilized as a lever in effecting the above mentioned fulcrum changing action. By using the bearing socket 13 as a fulcrum the head 11 may be swung forwardly or backwardly, as the case may be, to cause the snapping of the fulcrum pin 5 into or out of the receiving portions 4. This action is not necessary and the user may readily accomplish the desired result without the aid of the action above described.

By reason of the positions of the fulcrum receiving portions 4, the (so-relation thereof with the angled faces, and the retaining means mounted on said faces, the fulcrum pin 5 is removably held within its respective receiving portion 4 and in a manner for most effectively supporting the thrust set up by the clamping action.

From the fore oing description, taken in connection with t 1e accompanying drawing, the novel details of construction, the operation and advantages of my invention will be readily ap arent to those skilled in the art to which tlie same relates.

What I claim is;

1. A clamp of the class described, comprising a relatively fixed jaw, a movable jaw, means for fulcruming said jaws together to cooperate with each other, and means whereby said fulcrum may be adjusted and retained at its adjustment by snap action.

2. A clamp of the class described comprising a relatively fixed jaw, a movable jaw, a screw and a pivot head for moving said jaws toward each other to clamp the work, means for fulcruming said jaws together in cooperative relation, and means whereby said fulcrum may be adjusted and retained at its adjustment by snap action.

3. A clamp of the class described comprising a relatively fixed jaw, a movable jaw carrying member having a pivoted clamping jaw with clamping faces, a screw and a pivot head for moving said jaws toward each other to clamp the work, means for fulcruming said jaws together in cooperative relation, and means whereby said fulcrum may be adjusted and retained at its adjustment by snap action.

4. A clamp of the class described comprising a relatively fixed base member providing a clamping jaw, an upward projection provided with a plurality of fulcrum portions, fulcrum retaining means cooperative with said fulcruinportions, a movable clamping jaw carrying member, a fulcrum carried by said movable member, a pivoted clamping jaw having clamping faces carried by said movable member, and means for causing clamping action by said clamping jaws.

5. A clamp of the class described comprising a relatively fixed base member providing a clamping jaw, an upward projection provided with a plurality of fulcrum portions, and a bearing socket, fulcrum retaining means cooperative wit-h said fulcrum portions, a movable clamping jaw carrying member, a fulcrum carried by said movable member, a pivoted clamping jaw having clamping faces carried by said movable member, and means for causing clamping action by said clamping jaws, said means comprising a clamping screw having a turning head, and a bearing socket engaging end, a pivoted head carried by the movable clamping jaw carrying member and having a. threaded bore through which the screw passes to engage the bearing socket of the relatively fixed base member.

6. A clam of the class described comprising a relatively fixed base member providing a clamping jaw, an upward-projection provided with a plurality of fulcrum portions, fulcrum retaining means cooperative with said fulcrum portions, said means comprising fulcrum retaining heads, casings for retaining the heads, means for retaming the casings and means for forcing the said heads outwardly into the fulcrum,

portions, a movable clamping jaw carrying member, a fulcrum carried by said movable member, a pivoted clamping jaw having clamping faces carried by said movable member, and means for causing clamping action by said clamping jaws.

7. As a new article of manufacture, a clam comprising a relatively fixed base member providing a clamping jaw, an upward projection provided with a plurality of fulcrum' portions, and a bearing socket, fulcrum retaining means cooperative with said fulcrum portions, said means comprising fulcrum retaining heads, casings for rethe eads taining the heads, means for retalmn' casings and means for forcing the I outwardly into the fulcrum portions, a

means whereby said fulcrum may be adjusted and retained at its adjustment by snap action.

9. As a new article of manufacture, a clamp comprising two cooperating members 'which are separable from each other by' snap action and which include a relatively fixed base member providing a clamping jaw, an upward projection provided with a plurality of fulcrum portions, and a' bearing.

socket, fulcrum retaining means cooperative with said fulcrum portions, a movable,

clamping jaw carrying member, a fulcrum pivot head for movin carried by said movable member, a pivoted clamping jaw having clam ing. faces carried by said movable member, means for causing clam-ping action by said clamping jaws, said means comprising a clamping screw having a turning head and a bearing socket engagingend, a pivoted head carried by the movable clampin 'aw carryin member and having a threa led bore throng which the screw passes to enga e the bearin-g socket of the relatively fixe base memr clam comprising two cooperating members which are separable from each other by snap action and which include a relatively .fixed base member providing a clamping jaw, an upward projection provided with a plurality of fulcrum portions, fulcrum rei). As a new article of manufacture, a

taining means cooperative with said fulcrum portions, said means comprising fullcrum retaining heads, casings for retaining the heads, means for retaining the casin means for forcing the said heads outwar ly into the fulcrum portions, a movable clamping jaw carrying member, a fulcrum carried by said movable member, a pivoted clamping jaw having clamping faces carried by said movable member, and means for causing clamping action b said clamping jaws.

11. As a new artice of manufacture, a clamp comprisin two cooperating members which are separa 1e from each other by snap action and which include a relatively fixed jaw, a movable jaw, means for fulcrummg said jaws together to cooperatewith eac other, and means wherebv said fulcrum may be adjusted and retained at its adjustment by snap action.

12. clamp of the class described comprising a relativel fixed jaw, a movable jaw carrying mem er composed of spaced arallel side plates, a pivoted clampingjaw having clamping faces carried by said movable jaw carrying member, a screw and a said jaws toward each other to clamp tie work, means for fulcruming said jaws together in cooperative relation, means whereby said fulcrum may be adjusted and retained at its adjust- .ment by snap, all of such elements being constructed and arranged so as tobe inside the planes of the external faces of the spaced parallel side plates of the movable jaw.

WALTER S. TOWER. 

